Personal fireworks are just one holiday customs that pose a personal injury or product liability risk. Attorneys with Harrell and Harrell offer tips for a safe, happy holiday season. Christmastime is meant to be a festive time of year happily spent with family and friends. But common holiday mishaps can turn holidays into horror stories. In fact, a significant number of legal cases filed each year involve Christmas and New Year dangers. Product liability and personal injury attorneys with Jacksonville’s Harrell and Harrell offer tips for avoiding the most prevalent holiday-related troubles.

Drunk driving: December and early January calendars are packed with holiday parties. And of course, enjoying a few cocktails is a big part of the celebration. If you’re attending a holiday party, designate a non-drinking driver or plan to take a taxi home. Be aware that other drivers on the road may be intoxicated and won’t be as careful as you are.

Trucking accidents: Millions of holiday gift make their way to retail stores and homes via tractor trailer trucks. They’re on the road in big numbers throughout the holidays and many drivers are tired from pulling extra shifts. Be wary when sharing the road with a commercial truck.

Fires: Electric Christmas lights, lit candles and fireworks all are fire hazards. Keep your Christmas trees well watered. Place lit candles in areas where they won’t be easily knocked over, or opt for battery-operated candles. And make sure that kids and teens using personal fireworks are supervised by adults by responsible, sober adults.

Holiday toys: Keep toys with small parts that can come loose and be swallowed away from small children. Skip toys with small, magnetic parts. Hospitals have seen a rash of kids and teens swallowing high-powered magnets that cause violent illness and perforate intestine and stomach linings. Wheeled gifts like bicycles, skateboards and scooters put hundreds of kids in hospitals with sprains and broken or fractured bones. Insist that they use all appropriate safety gear.

Packaging: Amazing how kids can get pricey toys for Christmas, but end up having the most fun playing with the big cardboard boxes those toys come in, isn’t it? But some packaging can be dangerous. Plastic bags in particular pose a suffocation risk, and those silicon packs designed to absorb moisture in product boxes can be dangerous if swallowed.

If you or someone you love is injured over the holidays, contact an experienced personal injury or product liability lawyer. Harrell and Harrell specializes in helping victims get fair compensation for their injuries. Call 800-251-1111 for a free consultation.